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The Circus
The Circus is a group of rock plates that exist within a pocket universe, outside of the higher dimension. Due to its displacement from normal spacetime, it doesn't inhabit any form of known space, and its bubble of temporal activity is volatile, resulting in hundreds of thousands of varying pockets of time, most of which are unstable. Despite the impossible nature of the Circus, it still hosts almost 100 million inhabitants and consists of three kingdoms, twenty political territories, twenty-nine large cities and several hundred settlements. The Circus is the primary setting of the second arc of Meridian Six - Circus. Formation Not much is known about how the Circus came to be. Some theories suggest that it was created during the formation of the Universe. It is believed to be a fragment of an asteroid that was impacted at such force, that it was pushed between two membranes. In theory, there could be an infinite number more such places like this. Other theories suggest it was assembled by a powerful being. However, the scientific communities across several systems generally brush off this theory as being more philosophical than scientific. Nature of Time Time is a puzzling subject within the Circus. The theory of relativity is well-known, however it seems to be incredibly compressed across the rings. Pockets of time are scattered across the lands, each with their own field of gravity and time. For example, if Bubble A's time passage value is 1, and Bubble B's time passage is 2, one could walk from A to B, then back to A and feel no change. However, an observer standing in A would see them speed up rapidly, before slowing back down to regular speed upon return to A. Likewise, an observer standing in B would perceive the person moving very slowly, before speeding up to normal, then slowing back down upon return to A. Time bubbles like these are located everywhere, and each one's value is constantly fluctuating. Scientists within the Circus have been researching for years for ways to measure the fields in order to predict the changes. An unexpected benefit of living in such a place is the extreme deceleration of overall ageing. Whilst the body can suffer other harmful effects from fluctuating time, the phenomenon does seem to have had an impact on life expectancy within the Circus. For example, the average human lifespan increases from 75 on Earth, to 135 in the Circus. This is affected, of course, by the inability to measure time exactly, however the increase is significant. One man even claims to have been in the Circus for almost 300 years. Time-Keeping in the Circus On the subject of time, understanding its nature within the Circus might lead one to question the world's time-keeping. How it measures time, and how it documents history. These are still matters of much debate, however, a human scientist within the Circus, named Dr. D.S. Francis has provided something of a standardisation within one of his recent books: Never On Time. In the book, he talks about a device he is building that can sit outside of our common dimensions, where time is absolute. This device can be contacted via a handset that also uses extra-dimensional technology. Thus, a universal "time of day" can be established and followed throughout the Circus. The technology is still experimental, but as a by-product, its successful construction would also solve the problem of measuring time anomalies in certain zones. Weather The Circus is almost entirely a red rocky landmass. There exists some flora, but the severe lack of sunlight and weather conditions of any kind have resulted in an almost inhospitable environment for plant life. The most significant kind of describable "weather" condition that frequently occurs is a phenomenon referred to as Time Storms. During the average Time Storm, larger bubbles of time will split up for seemingly no reason and rapidly fluctuate. This disturbs the local atmosphere of the Circus, leading to massive friction between air particles. Sonic booms and huge gusts of wind can erupt as a result of this. It can last for several hours at a time, relatively-speaking. Sunlight, Moonlight and the Sky Surrounding the landmass of the Circus is a vast ocean of boiling hot liquid that closely resembles the chemical structure of everyday water. The heat produced from it provides a natural warmth to the world, due to rising air getting carried and distributed randomly by pockets of time. This makes up for the lack of a sun, a moon, or any kind of celestial object in the Circus' sky. Despite there being no light-source visible from the Circus, the sky is always a dark grey, rather than a thick black. Scientists theorise that this is just unfiltered Cosmic Background Radiation. One theory of how the Circus came to be relies on the space beyond the higher dimension having also been created in a Big Bang of sorts, supporting the idea of there being residual background radiation as this anti-space expands. Other theories suggest that the Circus is squeezed between two membranes, and that the grey sky is actually light being pulled between universes by gravity. Life in the Circus It is considered a testament to life itself that anything can survive and even adapt to a world as impossible and treacherous as the Circus. Moving from a normal environment within known space into such a broken and backwards world has been the downfall of many. However, much like with every origin story of sentient and civilised species', people adapt or die. While the hope remains present that the people of the Circus can one day find their way home, some fear that they are too far gone; that the transition back to regular space from the Circus will be even more difficult. People in the Circus Nobody knows who the first person to enter the Circus was. There are theories, and even religions built upon this, such as the Kingdom of Eden, who believe their glorified King Eden I was the first creature to step foot in the Circus. However, there is no proof to support nor refute this, as is the case with all faiths. New people find themselves in the Circus quite regularly. Ever since the first, it has been a constant flow. For some people, it seems to have been random; that they found themselves suddenly in the Circus for no discernible reason. Others remember being sent there via explosion, shockwave, energy beam, portal, wormhole; the list goes on. A strange observation one can make is that the selection of people appears to be random, however there are a significant number of humans from 21st Century Earth in comparison to anything and anyone else. The reason for this is yet unknown. One interesting result of this world is that, not only is it inhabited by all manners of creatures from across space, but also from across time. Beings from the past, present, and future have all found themselves inhabiting the same world at the same time. In terms of human history, the current oldest known inhabitant is a Greek woman from the 8th Century BC. Over time, her body adapted to the change and she was injected with gira so that she could communicate with others. This event was also documented by Dr. Francis in his book It's All Greek To Me - Impossible Language and History Made Possible. Regions of the Circus Though politics change over time and borders expand and contract constantly, there seems to be a consistency within the Circus. It was once joked that the lack of availability of land maps has resulted in people being precious about their borders remaining the same. Regardless, there has been an established and unchanged twenty regions within the Circus for almost a thousand Earth years. There is no single way to refer to these regions, which has caused much debate between kingdoms and political parties. Generally accepted terms for regions of the Circus include: principalities, sectors, zones, states, lands. The following is a list of all regions that currently exist within the Circus: * Alpha Rock * Barrenia * Blind Man's Wonderland * Broken Plains * Chardeep * Drysprings * Fading Hope Coast * The Flamelands * Flickering Shore * The Heartstones * Heights of Ra * The Islands of Demise * Jewel Strait * The Kingdom of Eden * The Middle Ring * Northbrim * Remnant Rocks * Smokepit * The Valley of Lost Souls * Vinepoint Hollows Along with these land regions, there are also four main bodies of water: * The Amber Circlet * Ember Lake * Hades' Pass * The Untamed Marshes And, surrounding the landmass and all its regions is an indeterminable amount of boiling hot water, known as The Boiling Sea, commonly referred to as 'The Brew'. Transport in the Circus For a millennia-old land with some great minds inhabiting it, the state of accessibility of the Circus is quite low. More focus has been placed on protection from bandits and raiders that live in the wilds, and setting up a stable economy than on actually moving around between the regions. However, there is a small monorail system in Northbrim and its surrounding regions, made from a repurposed mining operation. There is also a limited network of zeppelin stations located along the western regions. Further south, the quality of transport lessens to the point where the most commonly accessible method of travel is a horse-and-cart network. Most large towns and every city has a similar operation, meaning that there will rarely be an instance where travelling by foot is absolutely necessary. A useful guide to the Circus' by-routes and paths less-travelled exists, again written by the esteemed Dr. Francis, entitled 'Circus: A Guidebook'. Religion in the Circus Faith has proven to be a difficult thing to maintain in a place like the Circus, which defies all modern practices. However, much like how advanced species have ways of adapting to the harshest environments, those who seek to have faith have adapted their own views and beliefs to suit their new environment. Most notable are the Knights of Eden, who believe that their long-dead deity King Eden I was the being who constructed the Circus as a paradise for those deserving enough to find their way there. They also believe that Eden I will one day return to fight a Great War. The Knights are criticised however, as they behave more like a cult than an organised religion. There are dozens of smaller factions of people scattered around the lands, each with their own way of life and explanation for the world they find themselves in. Researchers into this phenomenon suggest that a scared or confused mind has a way of warping reality in order for it to make sense to the individual. Some traditional religions from all over the galactic network have survived the corrosive environment of the Circus, such as Mormonism from Earth and even K'garut from the Weleyan System. Species of the Circus As mentioned previously, the most common species inhabiting the Circus are the humans of Earth. But humans are just a drop in the ocean when it comes to analysing the range of species as a whole. It is impossible to obtain exact figures, however. A list of the most notable species follows: * Humans, or Terrans, of Earth/Terra * Humans from elsewhere * Helarrai, of Helar III and the Empire of the Fang * Fobari, of Eobauria * Surmaean, of the Surma System The Circus has its array of fauna and other less-intelligent beings, much like any other place would. Some of these are peaceful grazing animals, some can be domesticated, some are wild and defensive, while others are extremely hostile and dangerous. * Skree, lizard-like horses that are commonly used as transport throughout the southern regions. * ''Carnies, ''mysterious meaty golems that dwell in caves and devour anything they see.